I’m stunned. “Really? I thought you loved it.”
Kayla quit her last job, the one at Bay Area Weekly, a week after her mother died. They were going to fire her anyway, she thinks, and it was time. That much I could see. She then applied to be a staff writer for a local magazine. To her surprise, they took her in and have been teaching her the ropes. It’s an online magazine about Northern California and I read every article she puts out. She really does have the talent, even though I know it will take time before it really pays off. The only downfall is that she had to take a massive paycut but Kayla rolled with the punches. She gave up her apartment and moved in with her brother Toshio.
“I did love it,” she says. “But it was time to move on. I got what I needed, the experience. Now I want a different kind of experience. I’ve been applying to every publication for the last two days here.”
“Any luck?”
“I have an interview tomorrow,” she says.
“Where? What’s it called? I’ll spy on them.”
“Twenty-Four Hours,” she says. “It’s like a daily free newspaper.”
“Sounds familiar,” I tell her.
“They’re in every major city. They hand them out at the train stations.”
I nod. “Ah yes, I’ve seen them. Good for you. Pay raise I hope?”
“We’ll see. I’m hoping it will be enough to continue sharing an apartment. Otherwise sometimes it’s about more than money.” She pauses. “Where are you?”
“Eh, I just took the dogs out for a bit, picked up some groceries. Coming up Frederick Street now. It’s bloody cold out.”
“I know,” she says and I can almost hear her shivering. “Any plans for tonight?”
“Not really. Stay in, maybe watch a stupid Christmas movie since it’s the damn season and all.”
“You’re positively Grinchy. Are you watching the movie alone?”
“Well, me and the pups, yeah.”
“No woman to join you?”
I swallow. “No,” I say softly.
“Are you sure?” she asks.
I frown. “I’m pretty sure I’d remember if I invited a woman over. You’re still the last, uh, well anyway. My memory is sharp now. It’s just me.”
She seems to think that over and I swear I can hear a sigh of relief. “What are you wearing?” she asks.
“What am I wearing?” I can’t help but smile at that. “Well that’s a question I haven’t heard in a bloody long time.”
“Let me guess,” she goes on. “Your old leather jacket. Dark grey jeans. Olive green sweater. Looks slightly Norwegian, like it would itch a lot. Camel Timberland boots. Oh, and fingerless black gloves.”
I look down at myself, as if I’d forgotten I dressed myself. “That’s exactly what I’m wearing,” I tell her, confused. “How did you…”
Then I look up and see my flat across the road.
I see Kayla standing outside of it.
The bag of groceries drops from my hands.
Somehow I clutch the phone and the leashes.
It can’t be her.
But Emily starts wagging her tail excitedly and Kayla raises her hand, giving me a small wave. She dressed in a bright purple peacoat, jeans, boots, a beanie pulled over head. She’s smiling and pulls her phone away from her ear.
I walk toward her in a daze.
“Your groceries!” she yells at me happily.
As if on autopilot I quickly turn around and scoop them up, then march on over to her. She’s not real until I can feel her.
But the closer I get, the more real she becomes until I’m standing on the curb, staring at her, utterly dumbfounded.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, my words floating away like in a dream.
“I was wondering if maybe you needed a roommate,” she says, putting her hands in her pockets and looking away with a sly smile on her face.
“A roommate?” I frown.
“Yeah. My job interview. If I get it, well, I’ll need a place to live.”
I can only stare at her, blinking, thinking it’s a prank of some sort.